Mumbai: The music industry has been taken by surprise following Arijit Singh’s announcement that he is stepping away from playback singing.
Reacting to the development, singer-composer Sona Mohapatra described Arijit’s decision as “brave,” “generous,” and “disruptive in the best way.” She shared a detailed note on Instagram, reflecting on her own journey of creating and releasing independent music year after year, calling it fulfilling, exhausting, and exhilarating.
In her post, Sona wrote that stepping away from playback singing feels “less like an exit and more like an arrival into freedom, authorship and possibility.”
While clarifying that she does not know the exact reasons behind Arijit’s move, she emphasized that the decision would likely grant him the artistic freedom that lies at the core of true creativity. “I’m not speculating on why. The reasons are surely deeply personal and entirely valid. What matters is the choice,” she noted.
Sona pointed out that none of Arijit’s predecessors had imagined such a path—stepping aside to create space, first for oneself, to explore, experiment, and sing one’s own music on one’s own terms.
She also highlighted how this decision could open doors for fresh voices that often struggle in an industry driven by what she called “zero-risk formulas.” Criticising prevailing practices, she said producers tend to overuse a single voice, neglect to pay demo singers, and avoid fairly compensating established artists by dangling the promise of “opportunity,” even after decades of work. She added that this process often exhausts music directors, only for the final recording to revert to the same familiar voice, perpetuating an exploitative cycle for the sake of convenience.
Expressing excitement, Sona said she looks forward to witnessing the artist Arijit Singh is poised to become as he embraces original music and new creative possibilities.
With inputs from IANS